Even though she took nearly three years off from her hockey career after graduating from Princeton, Kim Newell ’16 is shining as bright as ever on the international stage.
Four games into the preliminary round for Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey, Princeton alumna Zhou Jiaying — known at the University as Kim Newell — has found her groove in the crease. Although she hails from Canada, Newell represents China, her mother’s home country, on the international stage. As the starting goalkeeper for the national team, she locks down opposing offenses at an elite level.
Newell has been on a tear to start the 2022 Olympics Games in Beijing. Her breakout performances thus far have put her in third place internationally in saves percentage, ahead of all but two other Olympic goalkeepers, with a rate of 95.51 percent.
Her successes on an international level are no surprise to anyone who knew Newell in her days at Princeton. Both then and now, she was a competitor that no opponent wanted to face up against. As a Tiger, she earned First-Team All-Ivy League honors, an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey Goalie of the Month award, three separate ECAC Goalie of the Week recognitions, and made the ECAC All-Academic team all four years.
Newell’s shot-blocking abilities have been essential to China’s success. On Sunday, Feb. 6, her skills were put on full display for the world to see when the Japanese National Team took China into a penalty-shot shootout. She successfully saved all five of Japan’s penalty-shot attempts, giving her teammates the opportunity to make a play and take home the win. Chinese forward Mi Le zipped the puck past the opposing goalkeeper, ultimately giving China the 2–1 victory.
Not only is Newell dominating the ice, but she is doing so in style. Her customized goalkeeper mask and pads show off the famous Chinese-style golden dragons.
China ended with a 2–2 record in the Women’s Preliminary Round, good for fourth place in Group B. Since only the top three teams in Group B advance to the quarterfinals, their 2022 Olympic run has officially come to an end. The next women’s hockey matchup at the Olympics will take place on Friday, Feb. 11, when the United States will compete against the Czech Republic to kick off the Women’s Play-offs Quarterfinals.
After the Olympics, it is unclear what Newell’s next move is going to be. Likely, she will choose to return to her professional team in China, the Kunlun Red Star, to resume play in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Regardless of her future plans, though, the Princetonian has officially left her mark on the biggest stage of them all.
Matt Drapkin is a staff writer for the ‘Prince’ sports section. He can be reached at mattdrapkin@princeton.edu or on Twitter at @mattdrapkin.
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